Thursday, March 26, 2009

One day in June my husband was coming home from work when he found a fawn laying in the road about a half mile from our house. His mother had been killed and laid dead nearby. He called me to ask what he should do. I said bring it home I guess. What else was there to do? Silly question.(-: I know what you are all thinking! We spent the next year raising our beloved Vinny.There were many fun times and great experiences raising a deer. First off he insisted he was a house pet. He wanted to be where we were all the time. That included sleeping in my bed at night. Yes, Vinny was house broke. It didn't take long for him to be trained either. Much easier then a puppy! He would knock on the door to come in and go stand by the door to go out. If you didn't let him out right away he would come to you just like a dog would to get your attention. Deer are very smart. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!Vinny was the sweetest, loving animal I have ever had. He became part of our family as soon as he came through the front door that day. At the time we had a golden lab who thought things were a little out of hand here. Boe our lab was a hunting dog! He had to endure countless critters over his life. He took it in stride and went with the flow, although I don't think he ever really liked it.(-: Anyhow, back to Vin. He loved his bottles. When I came home from work he would meet me at the gate. He would follow me into the house for his nice warm bottle of goat formula. Goats are a lot like Deer. Vinny could suck down a bottle faster then anything I had ever seen(-: As he grew bigger he decided that Cheerios where his favorite snack food. He had to have a bowl to go along with his bottle. Then he decided that sliced apples were his favorite. So he also needed an apple to go along with his bowl of Cheerios. At Thanksgiving time we introduced him to homemade pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Boy did he love that! He would moan as he was eating it. That became his new favorite treat(-:During the day when I was at work he would hang out in the yard and eat whatever he wanted, but as soon as I came home he wanted his bottle.(-:Vin loved to eat the bouquets of flowers my daughter got from her boyfriend! My daughter was not happy with him for that. I couldn't help but laugh, so she wasn't to happy with me either! Vinny loved to play chase with our lab. They would have so much fun running around the yard. As he grew he could rest his head on the table and eat treats that we put near him(-: As the months went by he roamed farther and farther into the wooded area. My daughter would see him on her daily runs. He would greet her and follow her back home. One day he did not greet me at the gate when I got home from work. I knew this was the day he would be called to the wild. I was sad and I missed him so much. He would drop by at times for a quick visit but he would run off and not stay. Soon he would not come near us at all. Then finally he would not come back. So nature called and he listened. We saw him several times after that and he would always stop and look at me but he would not come up to me again. I will always remember him and I will always treasure our time together(-:

Cindee .. my heart just jumped reading this amazing story. I can't imagine how hard it was to let Vinny go into the wild knowing of all the possibilities that might happen. You did good girl !!Vinny was a wonderful intimate window into the wild for you and your family : )

Cindee, When I saw this story on my google reader I just had to click on it to read more! Wow, what an amazing 'story'...and it's a real story! You could submit this to a magazine--there are many that would be appropriate (not sure which but I'm sure you could find some). What a tale--and how sweet Vinny looks! It shows how love comes in many forms...taking him in, nurturing him, then allowing him to lead the life he was meant to...An endearing tale! (No pun intended-honestly! I didn't notice the pun until it was written down!!)"An en'DEER'ing tale". hehe!

I'm glad he found the wild, Cindee. My husband's Aunt Cleo and her husband had the exact same experience...without the moaning about pumpkin pie. The deer who came into their life actually rode in the fishing boat with them.

He, too, got the call of the wild and they never saw him again. I think they cringed every time they heard a gunshot during deer season. But, they sure had some sweet memories!

Thanks for sharing Vinny with us. It made me smile ... and then cry... and then smile again.

Hi Tina,Boe did adjust. He was a real trooper(-: We had a great time with our deer(-:

Hi Gail,I have a hummingbird story for tomorrow(-: I love being part of nature too. It is amazing(-:

Hi Joy,It was something I knew would eventually happen but it was still very sad when he finally moved on. I still miss him! He brought us all such happiness.

Hi Jan,We had such a great time with Vinny and everyone we know experienced him too. People were amazed that he was so funny. One time my sons Scout Master stopped by to get something out of the troop trailer and he turned around and there was Vinny inside looking at him. He didn't know about him at the time. Imagine his surprise!

Hi This Eclectic Life,The boat sounds fun! I can imagine that Vinny would do that too. He would jump in the truck just like a dog. He use to go down to my dads and wait there for me somedays. He would not cross the bridge. He would swim across the creek instead and sometimes in the winter it gets pretty raging! It was a riot watching him. He was so fun. Deer season is always hard for me. I hope he lived a long life and dodged the bullets!

This is such a heartwarming story for me being such an animal lover! I am so happy to hear that you can indeed intervene in the animal world for a bit and then they go off into the wild where they belong. I often wonder what we would do if we found a fawn but with our resident herd of Doe, I am sure one of them would take over where one left off. We find one on the road hit by a car about once a year. It breaks our heart to see one of our fur babies on the side of the road...

I enjoyed your story so much. My family rehabilitated wildlife and we sent many wonderful creatures back to the wild where they belonged, every time was difficult your story brought tears to my eyes, I know what joy it can bring yet is can also hurt to love and care for something that has to go. One time when I was 8, I carried a snake home on the end of a stick, brought it in to my mom, she screamed what are you doing! I told her I found him and he was homeless.... she informed me that snakes are never homeless! It was fun growing up in the wild!~Jacque

I enjoyed your story so much. My family rehabilitated wildlife and we sent many wonderful creatures back to the wild where they belonged, every time was difficult your story brought tears to my eyes, I know what joy it can bring yet is can also hurt to love and care for something that has to go. One time when I was 8, I carried a snake home on the end of a stick, brought it in to my mom, she screamed what are you doing! I told her I found him and he was homeless.... she informed me that snakes are never homeless! It was fun growing up in the wild!~Jacque

oh wow, this is the first time I heard that you had a deer! I'd be heartbroken and worried about gunshots,too,but I know you have to let them go. I see deer all the time here, but I've never had to rescue one. I've always been afraid of running up on a buck when his female is near! Look at the gorgeous velvet on his antlers,that's a great photo of him.kudzu

Hi PammieJo,Yeah it was really fun and he was just like having a large dog in the house. He was very well behaved! Just amazing.

Hi perennialgardener,At the time there was nothing around for 600 acres. So he could come and go whenever he wanted without worry of cars etc. He had the best of both worlds.

Hi Skeeter,I never thought I would have a deer to raise either. It just seemed to happen and I didn't give it a second thought. I am glad I was given the chance to do it.

Hi Ki,Thanks. I am glad it made you smile(-:

Hi My Little Family,Its funny because our whole family use to be deer hunters at one time. No one does anymore after that experience.

Hi Aunt Debbi,Glad you enjoyed it(-:

Hi Jacque,I have been so fortunate to live in the country my whole life. I love wildlife and appreciate it.I loved your snake story(-: I was always bringing home something when I was a kid too! (-:

Hi Kudzu,Some bucks can be quite violent from what I have heard but I have never had that experience with one. Usually they run off when they hear you coming before you get close enough. We have a lot of deer around here and other wild critters(-:The velvet on his antlers was so soft. It was beautiful. He was very proud of those antlers too! My husband says that the critters that come to us are reincarnated. None of our animals have ever fit the "normal" for their breed. It doesn't seem to matter whatever it is it fits right into our lives and acts like a human(-: I have been taking care of wild animals since I was a little girl. My dad would bring me home something that was abandon or lost its mother. I would raise it on a bottle if needed and then let it go. Each time was very hard and I never got use to that part. It was a good life experience I guess(-: